You did it! You decided you want to go to grad school! You’re looking up schools to attend, degree programs, and everything in between. You’re ready to make some decisions, but you realize you have something looming over your head – the GRE.

The GRE is a test that you need to take in order to get into most grad school programs, and your score can affect what programs you can get into. When’s the last time you took a test? For some of you, it may be a few weeks ago. For others, it could be years. Having the right GRE prep course can help you prepare for this big moment with ease.

How do you choose the best GRE prep course for you? I’m here to help!

The Princeton Review GRE prep course is one of my top choices for preparing for the GRE. This course has many in-person, online, and self-paced options to prepare for the GRE on your own time. Students who use The Princeton Review GRE can customize the level of help they need to prepare for the exam by choosing from three levels of tutors – private, master, and premier level.

Aside from choosing a level of tutor, what else does the Princeton Review GRE Prep Course have to offer to students? I’ve broken down all of their course features to help you determine if they’re the right fit for you.

The Princeton Review GRE Course Features

8 Full-Length Practice Tests

This GRE prep course comes with 8 full-length, computer adaptive practice exams. These courses are ahead of their competitors when it comes to simulated GRE practice tests. Following each practice exam, the student will receive personalized feedback from their instructor. This feedback will include the student’s strengths and weaknesses so the student can easily identify areas they need to improve upon before taking the GRE exam.

GRE Essay Prep

When it comes to GRE writing prep, the Princeton Review is the only self-paced GRE course that offers essay feedback. How great is that? Students can submit their essays through the LiveGrader tool, and they will receive real feedback and a score from experts, including suggestions on how to sharper your GRE essay writing skills to improve your exam scores!

Semi-Private Group Option

Can’t afford a private tutor? That’s no problem for the Princeton Review GRE prep course. This course offers a semi-private, small group option, capped at 4 students. This is a great way to receive personal help from an instructor in person or online, without the costs of a private tutor. This option takes place once or twice a week, for a total of 24 in-class hours in addition to use of the online materials.

Tutor Access Outside of Class

If you’ve signed up for the “Ultimate” course, you will have access to tutors and instructors outside class hours through many channels including in-person, phone, and email. Choosing the private tutor option students can customize the price of the course based on the expertise and experience of the tutor.

The Princeton Review GRE Tutoring Options:

Private Level Tutors: More than 40 hours of training and instruction time

Master Level Tutors: More than 500 hours of tutoring (or relevant work experience) and have instructed students that have superior score improvement

Premier Level Tutors: At least 1,000 hours of tutoring (or relevant work experience) and have instructed students who have achieved exceptional results

Adaptology Teaching Method

Finally, I believe that the best part of the Princeton Review GRE prep is the Princeton Review’s Adaptology teaching method. This teaching method allows each program to be tailored specifically to a student’s needs – so you’re preparing exactly the way you need to. Additionally, each live course includes one-on-one practice test reviews with your instructor, allowing you to examine how you did in the practice test and learn from any mistakes you may have made.

So, now that you know all about the Princeton Review GRE prep course, how does it stack up against the rest? In this next section, we’ll take a look at how Princeton Review performs versus the Kaplan GRE course.

Comparing Kaplan vs Princeton Review GRE Courses

When preparing for the GRE, you are going to want to do your research about GRE prep courses. The Kaplan GRE course is another option for preparing for the GRE exam. Let’s look at how it compares to the Princeton Review GRE prep course!

Kaplan GRE Course Features

Many course choices with a “PLUS” tutoring option

Like the Princeton Review course, the Kaplan GRE course allows you to choose from in-person, live online and self-paced courses to customize your exam preparation experience. Each course comes with an option to add the “Plus” option – but with a cost. This option provides a private coach and additional resources for $400 (or an extra $200 for the self-paced course). This access to the tutor is via email.

Every option of the Princeton Review prep course comes with access to live instructors, via in-person, phone, and email, aside from the Self-Paced option, and this is included in the price. So if you’re looking for a cost effective option, Princeton Review would be the best choice for you.

A large quantity of study materials

Kaplan GRE allows you to prepare for the exam with a large quantity of study materials. This course comes with 5,000 GRE practice questions, 7 full-length practice exams, a library of more than 180 hours of content, including GRE textbooks and flashcards.

While the Princeton Review only provides 3,500 GRE practice questions, it provides students one additional chance, totaling 8 full-length practice exams, to prepare and get real, personalized feedback from instructors. In addition, all of our practice materials will be online, so it is easy to access. This means, if money isn’t an option, Kaplan will provide you with 1,500 more GRE practice questions. But if you’re looking to save some money, Princeton Review is a great trade-off, especially with one more chance at a practice exam.

Guaranteed Score Increase, or Money Back

If you don’t see improvements in your score after completing the entire Kaplan course, you can be eligible for a full refund of your money. Additionally, if you are not happy with your test results, you can retake the course with no additional charges.

The Princeton Review course has three guarantees – the Readiness Guarantee, the Satisfaction Guarantee, and the Money-Back Guarantee. If you do not feel prepared for the exam after taking the course, you can repeat the course at no charge. If you are not satisfied with your test results, you can work with Princeton Review for up to a year after the exam.

4.Official Test Day Experience

One thing that is unique to Kaplan is the ability to take a practice GRE test at an actual Prometric testing facility. This can help you come to the actual test with a prepared mind – since you’ve already been through this.

Which is better – Kaplan vs. Princeton Review GRE?

Although Princeton Review GRE course does not have the unique opportunity of going to a Prometric testing facility, there are plenty of features unique to Princeton Review that sets it apart from its’ competitors, including Kaplan.

Some of The Princeton Review’s unique features have already been covered, like the GRE essay writing prep and feedback! The Princeton Review has a starting price of $199 while the starting price for Kaplan is up to $699.

With that being said, it is clear that for all of the GRE prep materials and practice tests you get, plus the personalized experiences and courses, and even the essay writing, the Princeton Review GRE prep course is a comprehensive course at a great value. However, if money isn’t a factor – you might consider Kaplan’s GRE course for it’s extra prep questions and their official test day experience at a prometric testing facility. For most students, however, I recommend The Princeton Review at all price points.

Now that you’ve done your research, it’s time to start preparing. Hit the books (or the online study materials, that is) and prepare yourself for the big test. Wishing you the best of luck on your adventure into grad school!